SAN DIEGO — Niko Tsakiris scored a goal and amassed a pair of assists as the San Jose Earthquakes defeated San Diego FC 3-2 on Wednesday night at Snapdragon Stadium in Major League Soccer regular-season play.
The Earthquakes opened the El Camino Rivalry second leg in shocking fashion when Niko Tsakiris outraced the back line in the third minute, took a long ball from Beau Leroux and curled a left-footed shot past SDFC goalkeeper CJ Dos Santos to give San Jose an early 1-0 lead. Two minutes later, another long ball resulted in Preston Judd getting tackled by Dos Santos in the box. Referee Alexis Da Silva awarded the Quakes a penalty kick, but Dos Santos saved Tsakiris’ attempt.
However, Tsakiris would show his resiliency almost immediately in the 12th minute, placing a perfect diagonal ball in the box for a streaking Judd. The forward beat his defender once again and a diving Dos Santos to slot it home for his team-leading 12th goal of the season and a 2-0 San Jose lead. Judd would later come off for Ousseni Bouda in minute 30 due to injury. The latter would pick up the scoring slack when in minute 35, Tsakiris got involved in his third goal of the match, pinging a beautiful ball for a charging Bouda who headed it from just inside the edge of the 18-yard box into the back of the net.
The hosts pulled one back in minute 42 when Elias Achouri’s low cross from the left wing bounced off Onni Valakari and was hammered home by an opportunistic Anders Dreyer from the penalty spot to make it 3-1.
In the second half, Dos Santos was sent off in minute 81, leaving SDFC with 10 men. Despite the disadvantage, they drew closer in stoppage time when a penalty was awarded for a foul in the box on San Jose. Newly acquired Cedric Bakambu converted from the spot in the 94th minute to make it 3-2. But the Quakes’ defense held strong through the final whistle and secured their first win since the FIFA World Cup break.
San Jose moved up to fifth place in the Western Conference (11-8-5; 38 points), while San Diego FC remains in ninth (8-10-6; 30 points).
The full “Quakes Replay” of tonight’s match is scheduled to air Sunday, Sept. 13, at 8 p.m. PT on KTVU Plus. For highlights, analysis and features, fans can also watch the new half-hour magazine show “Quakes Exclusive,” which will next air on Friday, Sept. 18, on KTVU FOX 2 at 8:30 p.m. PT.
The Black and Blue will return home Saturday, Sept. 12, to host Houston Dynamo FC. Kickoff from PayPal Park is slated for 7:30 p.m. PT with the match to be broadcast on Apple TV (English/Spanish), as well as via local radio on KSFO 810 AM (English) and La Kaliente 1370 AM (Spanish).
